We, like many travellers these days, weren’t sure if the volcanic ash cloud would allow us to get away but everything worked out fine and our flight left almost on time.

We’ve had a busy few days so far. For the most part it’s been raining cats, dogs and elephants but today we saw sun come out though the clouds and spread a golden glow over the snow capped Majella and Gran Sasso ranges.

Bad weather didn’t stop us making the most of our stay here. It’s always nice to sit outside taking the sun’s rays while having an aperitivo or enjoying il pranzo but they still taste just as good when you’re inside comfortably hearing the falling rain.

So what did we get up to while it’s been a bit wet? Well maybe not so much that warrants a blog post but we’ve enjoyed ourselves all the same.

Almost every morning, raining or not, we’ve headed out for an 8 km walk in the country around Loreto Aprutino. Mostly it’s been raining, and we have gotten odd looks from some of the locals as we squelched our way back to our base.

But the walks have been both great and necessary. The trees are full of birds singing their hearts out, the fields are full of flowers in bloom and around every bend vegetables and fruit trees are showing future promise.

If there is one sound that I’ll take away with me as a memory of these walks it’s got to be the sound of frogs. We pass two tiny lakes on our route and the echo of frogs from them is amazing. It seems to get amplified and directed out of the hollow so that you suddenly hear it as you approach and then, no more than 50 metres later, it’s gone.

Getting out for a walk early in the morning is necessary because otherwise I think I’d return looking like the Michelin Man. Even someone with strong willpower would struggle not to over-indulge as the food on offer here is just wonderful. Add to that the fact that we’ve had three invitations to lunch or dinner since we got here and I think you’ll probably understand why some morning exercise is crucial.

So that leads me on to conversation and food, a perfect match! Since we arrived we’ve eaten out three times; twice in restaurants and once in a friend’s house. Each time the chance to catch-up and talk about what’s been happening has been great. Conversation, food, and a little wine – you don’t need good weather to enjoy time spent that way.

A few trips to shops stock-up, a visit to the local TIM shop to organise internet access and the not-so-local but not too far computer shop to get printer cartridges and we were pretty much sorted for our stay here.

We noticed our wine supply was low so we headed out to the Azienda Marramiero, Rosciano (PE) and bought some red, white and rose. Well what’s life without vino?!

But now that it appears the weather has turned for the better I’m looking forward to some of the highlights of the next couple of weeks.

The Giro d’Italia passes though Abruzzo over the next two days and I hope to see the peloton in full swing somewhere along the coast between Silvi Marina and Pineto on Thursday.

May is full of festivals in Abruzzo and I’m expecting to enjoy every moment of the festival of San Zopito this coming weekend (22, 23, 24 May). The old ox started to find the ceremony a bit too tiring and after many good years of service has been retired. A younger ox will be at the centre of the celebrations this weekend and I expect to see the entire town of Loreto Aprutino out in force cheering him on.

Then the weekend of the 29 and 30 May we have the Cantine Aperte. Forty different wine producers are opening their doors to the public, giving them a chance to see how they make their wines and also giving them a chance to taste some of their best products. Some of these cantine will have food and music organised to help add to the carnival atmosphere.

It’s going to be a fun couple of weeks I think.

Post from: About Abruzzo

Plenty of Rain, Food and Conversation in Abruzzo; But Here Comes The Sun!

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So to not delay any more I thought I’d share a selection of photographs that I took while in Abruzzo.

Is there a common theme to these shots? Well the following is accurate:

• they were all taken in Abruzzo
• they don’t showcase a town or village
• they don’t showcase a particular season
• they don’t showcase a particular festival
• they were taken over a two year period

That makes them a random selection I guess, so here they are…

They probably aren’t prize winners. They didn’t get picked naturally when I wrote about places, events and activities in previous posts. But I like them now that I’ve looked at them in a new light.

So now that it’s 2010 I started thinking about what I’d like to see and do in Abruzzo over the next 12 months. I don’t think I’m going to be able to spend a good length of time there this side of March. But I’m looking forward to it as snow will still be on the mountains and there should also be signs of spring in the air.

I’m hoping to do the usual things, wander around the towns and villages, visit the sea and the mountains and as always sip aperativi and chat with friends.

As for new stuff, if possible I hope to do some or all of the following in 2010:

• Explore Sulmona
• See the wolves at the Wolf Conservation Centre
• Visit The Butterfly Farm near Citta Sant’Angelo
• Get to the Pescara Jazz Festival
• See the procession of the snake charmers at Cocculo
• See the Palio del Pupo in Cappelle Sul Tavo
• Have a meal on a trabocco
• See the saffron crocuses in bloom
• Visit the waterfalls and pools of Gole del Salinello
• See an Abruzzo stage of the Giro d’Italia

It may not seem like a long list, but if I cover most of it in 2010 I’ll be happy.

Before I go, don’t forget that you can buy an Abruzzo 2010 Calendar using 12 of my favourite photographs of the region. It’s for sale through Lulu and all profits will go to the Italian Red Cross. See this post, Abruzzo 2010 Calendar – All Profits To Charity for more details.

Post from: About Abruzzo

2010 Wishlist and some Random Photos of Abruzzo

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• exploring parts of the Majella I hadn’t seen before
• visiting an abbey with an amazing floor
• visiting a basilica with fantastic frescoes
• exploring shepherds’ ancient stone refuges
• taking photos of the elusive Ferrari-red Ape with roll bars! (proof provided below)
• discovering a new restaurant and new Abruzzese dish
• showing some of my favourite places to a visiting friend
• tasting new olive oil
• getting a personal tour of Loreto Aprutino’s Oil Museum
• enjoying an exhibition of paintings from an important Abruzzese artist
• buying more CDs of Abruzzo folk and jazz

And if that wasn’t enough I was stunned as temperatures dropped 15 degrees practically overnight bringing snow and hailstones to a region that was basking in mid-20s sunshine the day before.

Of course too much exploring can be tiring so relaxing with friends over excellent food and wine regularly is crucial.

I had the pleasure of drinking two wines I hadn’t come across before:

The first Villa Gemma Bianco (white) from Masciarlli the same people who bring you Marina Cvetic. This white is made from 80% Trebbiano d’Abruzzo – 15% Cococciola – 5% Chardonnay, its colour is pale straw and it has slightly fruity taste (apple perhaps). It costs around €10 in Abruzzo shops and I think it is fabulous.

The second was recommended to me by Octavio in the New Evo restaurant in Loreto Aprutino. It was our last night in the area and we wanted to have something special. Closing the wine list I asked Octavio if he’d recommend something and he suggested a red from the Pasetti Vini. They are based in Francavilla (CH) and the chosen red was from the Pasetti range. This wine is made from Montepulciano d’Abruzzzo grapes grown on the foothills of the Gran Sasso mountains. We wanted something special and were not disappointed.

I’ll give you more details about what I’ve been doing in up-coming posts.

Post from: About Abruzzo

Villa Gemma, Pasetti and that elusive red Ape

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We’re still in August and with the temperatures touching 30 degrees, a trip to the beach is never too far from the minds of the Abruzzese. If they are lucky enough to live close by, they can walk or cycle, but judging by the availability of parking spaces, most people drive.

Pineto, Pescara and Francavilla al Mare are the three sandy beaches where I’ve spent most time. Readers of this blog will know that I think Pineto is one of the nicest beaches in Abruzzo. The first time I arrived there I saw a sea of umbrellas and thought it was full of people. I was wrong, there was plenty of space and I had no difficulty finding a place to relax before plunging into the Adriatic.

By contrast, the first time I arrived at the Marina di San Vito all thoughts of a relaxing day by the sea disappeared as I scrambled along the pebbles and nearby headlands  to take photographs of the tracbocchi (wooden fishing platforms).

Depending on where you base yourself taking a stroll beside the sea, along the promenade or on the pier is a must. Stop every now and then to admire the skill of expert fishermen as they pass their knowledge on to their apprentices. If the sea breeze does not cool you down then there are plenty of places to get refreshment.

Abruzzo has 133km of beaches, inlets and cliffs, so it’s not surprising that the Adtriatic is an important part of daily life for many Abruzzese. I’ve passed through many seaside towns and stopped and spent time in Pineto, Silvi, Cittá Sant’Angelo, Montesilvano, Pescara, Francavilla al Mare, Ortona, San Vito Chietino and Vasto. They are all wonderful places and each has a character of its own.

So what are you waiting for? Break out those bagnos and vai al mare!

Post from: About Abruzzo

The Sea (Il Mare)

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I love market day in Abruzzo. There’s always a buzz of excitement as people weave in and out around the stalls looking for bargains and fresh produce from their favourite dealer. You can get practically anything you want at the markets: vegetables, fruit, meat, pots, pans, clothes, cleaning aids, hats, shoes, irons and pasta boards. My sister-in-law bought a set of curtains that hang in her spare bedroom. I get to see them every time I stay over.

You could probably spend everyday (except perhaps Sunday) at a market in some Abruzzo region as it often occurs on a different day of the week, in different towns. In Atri it’s Monday, in Penne it’s Saturday and in Loreto Aprutino it’s Thursday. These towns are all within easy reach of each other so depending on where you’re based you could easily visit three markets a week. Now that’s a bit too frequent for me but if you are addicted to markets, why not?

Markets are an important part of day to day life in Italy. People come into town from surrounding areas, look around, meet friends and get together for a coffee, a campari or even a glass of prosecco. I prefer when the market stalls are based in a piazza instead of the main streets. In a piazza, if you position yourself outside a bar or cafe you can get a great view of one of the most important social and commercial events in Italian life.

Some towns have an annual market as part of a festival. This is like a standard market on steroids, taking over the whole town, with a marching band thrown in for that special Fellini moment. Last week, on 2nd August, I was in Pineto for their annual August Festival. I think it was the biggest market I’ve ever seen. The entire centre of the town was closed off and people were selling practically everything you could think of. I even saw native American wo0d carvings!

The one item you can be certain you’ll find at an Abruzzo market is the porchetta van. Slow roasted pork on a spit is a treat not to be missed. If you’re feeling peckish porchetta and some bread will definitely hold back the hunger.

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Market Day (giorno di mercato)

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If you’re from northern Europe and especially if you’re from the UK or Ireland you’re possibly feeling a little sun-deprived at the moment. Here in Abruzzo, however, the skies are mainly clear except for a big yellow ball. There is one drawback. It’s very hot. At about 35 C and above it’s a bit too hot for me. The “cooling down” is practiced as often as I can. The Loretese have assured me that it’s a bit hot for them also, but they are working and I’m really just having a holiday!

I don’t like being completely sedentary though. I like to get out of Loreto and go walking whenever possible. But it’s a bit hard in the heat so getting up early and heading off in the relative cool of the morning is the best time to do it. It’s still hot, but much more bearable, usually no more than 25C.

But the walks are really worth it. The countryside around Loreto is just fantastic. Olive trees line most of the paths and there are plum and peach trees within easy reach also. There are two walks I’ve found that are just the perfect length, about an hour, with the right amount of ups and downs to make them interesting. One goes by the church of the Madonna Delle Grazie and the other begins by heading to the church of the Madonna Degli Angeli.

Apart from the obvious benefit of getting some exercise they also provide a chance to be part of some stunning scenery. You’re bound to see and hear the wildlife as you make your way along the paths and trails used primarily by local farmers.

Post from: About Abruzzo

A walk in the country, near Loreto Aprutino

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I’ve written to several Abruzzo town councils (comune) over the last year trying to find out what dates particular festivals are scheduled. Since they are annual, but mainly take place over weekends they don’t occur on the same dates each year. Often they are wonderful spectacles, that can involve costume re-enactments and pageantry. Almost always  they involve local food of the highest quality.

The festival that I’ve been most curious about lately is the Sagra Dall’Etna al Gran Sasso in Città Sant’Angelo. I’ve been to Città Sant’Angelo only once. And sure enough I picked an overcast day. Not an easy thing to do in spring or summer in Abruzzo.

Perched on a hill, the views from the old town are wonderful; my photographs really don’t do it justice at all. Also I think it is possible to get confused when dealing with Città Sant’Angelo because its town-land stretches all the way to the coast where there are various commercial outlets. A number of road signs point this way. But it is the old town that I’m most interested in.

Marzia from Città Sant’Angelo, very kindly emailed me and asked why I hadn’t written about her home town. Quite rightly she said it is beautiful (I agree) and that apart from the attraction of the town itself there are two important festivals each year. The first is Sagra Dall’Etna Al Gran Sasso and the second is Festa In Corso (a busker festival). I understood the Sagra Dall’Etna Al Gran Sasso was in July and Marzia told me that the festival celebrates the connection between her home town and the town of Nicolosi in Sicily. She said that there will be stands run by the Sicilians with amazing food plus typical wines and liqueurs.

As I’m going to be in the area, about 30 minutes away, at the end of this month, I tried to find out if my time coincided with the  Sagra Dall’Etna al Gran Sasso. The thought of sampling different styles of food from two very proud traditions – Abruzzo and Sicilia – was mouth watering.

The real difficulty was I didn’t know when the festival was on and I couldn’t find out.  Google didn’t help this time. Well if the information isn’t available on the web Google can’t find it. So I emailed the comune of Città Sant’Angelo over a week ago but I received no reply. I checked with my friends in Abruzzo and they didn’t know either. I really should have emailed Marzia but I was being stubborn. I just couldn’t believe that a festival as significant as the Sagra Dall’Etna al Gran Sasso was not being advertised on the internet.

But then I struck gold! I found this site Eventi e Sagre that lists festivals all over Italy by region and date. Fantastic! It has an RSS feed that gets updated with festivals as they are coming up – even better! So going to this page for Abruzzo events, and entering the province Pescara and the city Città Sant’Angelo in the search box I discovered the festival is on from 18 to 26 July.

The RSS feeds, which give you events by region for today, for the current month and for the next 30 days, are useful too. If you are interested in festivals in a particular town in Abruzzo you can always go to the Abruzzo section and enter the province and city as I did.

The unfortunate bottom line of all of this is that I won’t be able to go to the Sagra Dall’Etna al Gran Sasso in Città Sant’Angelo as I’m not going to be in the area when it’s on! But the good news is I can easily find out what special events are happening in whatever part of Abruzzo I find myself in.

Post from: About Abruzzo

Town Festivals, Special Events (Sagra e Eventi) and Città Sant’Angelo

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But today I’m experimenting with a really excellent solution – streamed radio from Abruzzo on the internet. Abruzzo.fm plays traditional music from Abruzzo and makes it available on the internet. No shortage of accordions here!

I’m a bit surprised that I hadn’t thought of steaming radio before. It means that I have access to folk music of Abruzzo no matter where I am. I’m currently listening to Lu llero llero by Serra Folk.

So how does it work? Well I clicked on the link that says Click per Ascoltare (Click to listen) and a dedicated music player pops up (worked for me on Internet Explorer but it didn’t work on Chrome).

The great thing about the dedicated player is it shows you the album art of the songs being played. I’m now listening to La bicicletta by Antenore Bucci!

If that does not work, you could use iTunes, Windows Media Player, WinAmp or Real Player. The Abruzzo.fm site has streams for all these popular players.

There is also another site that you could try TeleRadioAbruzzo.com, and once again just click on the link that says Click per Ascoltare (Click to listen).

I don’t plan on listening to it every hour of the day, but I’m happy to know that whenever I feel the need, the music of Abruzzo is just a couple of clicks away.

Post from: About Abruzzo

Abruzzo Radio

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So where is Pineto? It’s here, in the Teramo province of Abruzzo, about 30 minutes by car from Pescara. If you’re based inland near Penne, like the person who posed the question in Tripadvisor, it is about 50 minutes away.

What’s the beach like? Well I’m going to let a few photographs I took last year help answer this question.

The beach is long and sandy, and in an Abruzzo summer, the water is very inviting. One end of the beach is marked by the Torre di Cerrano and 2km of pine-wood separate the beach from the town.

It may look from the photos that every available spot is taken up by sun chairs, this is not the case. I found there was plenty of space on the beach, and if that is not enough there is the very welcome cool area amongst the pines, an ideal spot for a picnic.

There’s no shortage of restaurants. And they’ll happily will rent you sun chairs for the day, and all sorts of inflatable animals!

Pineto is overlooked by Atri, and one reference I came across indicated that The Pineto area served as a port for the Roman town of Adria (now Atri).

I’ve written about Atri before, and it’s well worth a visit. In fact, a morning at the beach, followed by an exploration of Atri sounds like a good plan to me. Atri is about 10km, 15 minutes by car, from Pineto.

This site that gives some details about the facilities in the area. I love the Pineto, and I think you’d be hard pressed not to enjoy yourself there.

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Pineto: Sun, Sea and Sand

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• The Santa Maria Assunta cathedral which dominates the town’s historic centre
• The frescoes contained inside the cathedral
• The erosion furrows surrounding the town
• The views of the Adriatic Sea, and the peaks of the Majella and Gran Sasso
• And if you’re up for it, the walk/cycle from Atri to Cittá Sant’Angelo

Atri is a fascinating, ancient town that historians believe gave its name to the Adriatic Sea. It sits on a hill between two valleys and is about 10km from the coast and 30km from Pescara. If you decide to visit, try to do so on a clear day, the views are spectacular.

Monday is market day, which has advantages and disadvantages. The obvious advantage is the town is hopping. People are in from the surrounding areas exploring the stalls, buying their weekly shopping and greeting friends and neighbours. But it is hard to find parking, and since it is a Monday, the restaurants are often closed.

If you are adventurous, there is a walking route from Atri to Cittá Sant’Angelo, described in the pamphlet “Abruzzo: The Guide To Its Unknown Wonders” which is available in tourist offices. Be warned though, one reviewer said that the maps and instructions in the pamphlet are not easy to decipher. Of course you could always drive there, about 15km, 30mins – less strenuous, but maybe not as much fun.

Finally, in two days time, from the 18th to 21st June there is the Atri Festival of Reportage, along with exhibitions running from 18th June to 18th August. A quote from the website says “The subject of reportage is discussed, studied and illustrated in all forms: from photography to radio and print media to video. An all round approach is adopted to focus on the reporter’s profession in an unusual and absorbing way by contrasting different international situations”.

The details of the exhibitions associated with the festival are available here. Regular readers of this blog will realise I have an interest in photography and I have to say I’m really looking forward to seeing the work on display.

Post from: About Abruzzo

Atri

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